Polymer particles have a multitude of uses. They can be used in medical settings as carriers for drugs and vaccines in order to affect the timing, location, and release profile of drug delivery and action. Polymer particles can also be used as diagnosis aids to carry imaging and contrast agents. There are also many industrial uses for polymer particles, such as in paints, coatings, and sealants.
The shape of a polymer particle can be of utmost importance to its suitability for a particular use. As such, there are many methods for preparing polymer particles of a particular morphology and also for processing a particle (e.g., grinding, cutting, milling, etc.) to obtain a desired shape. Oftentimes, the result of preparing a particular polymer particle or of processing that particle is a rough and/or jagged particle surface. Such irregularly shaped particles can have several disadvantages, such as great variability in the release profile and dosing of a drug within the particle. Other problems can relate to delivery (e.g., clotting and clumping). As such, it can be desired to take a polymer particle and change its morphology to result in a more uniform shape. The methods disclosed herein meet these and other needs.